1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to T-box transcription factors and their effects on the N-Myc promoter during cell proliferation and senescence. Diseases associated with such effects include cancers and heart disease. Also provided are the genes and their homologs, methods for screening for inducers and repressors of T-box transcription factors and N-Myc, effectors such as siRNA, antibodies and other compounds, methods for manipulating cell cycle by effecting the expression of those genes or the functions of the gene products, and methods for preventing and treating diseases associated with the regulation of T-box transcription factors and N-Myc.
2. Background Information
T-Box (Tbx) transcription factors are highly conserved across species, expressed in a wide variety of tissue types, often in an overlapping manner, and are required for development of diverse organs and tissues. T-Box genes regulate patterning and cell fate, cell survival and/or proliferation.
Although much is known about the individual biochemical components of T-box and N-Myc, what has not been determined is a mechanism for controlling proliferation and/or senescence to provide a target for drug studies for the treatment of, e.g., cancers and heart disease. Therefore, what are needed are methods for designing such drugs and treatments for those ailments and methods for screening for markers predictive of such ailments.